The present invention relates to a curtain structure in which a clip for allowing a curtain to suspend from a suspension ring of a curtain liner has a specific form and is attached to the curtain by specific structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a curtain structure in which a specifically formed clip is attached to a curtain in parallel to the curtain above a curtain surface and in a non-upright manner. Further, the present invention relates to a pleatable curtain structure.
When a clip is attached to a curtain, conventionally, there is employed a method in which an upper marginal portion of the curtain is partly self-overlapped and sewn together to form a pleat portion first, and an upright section of a clip is inserted into a joint of the pleat portion from below. During attachment of a clip according to the above method, however, a gripping section of the clip, formed to engage with a suspension ring of a curtain liner, is brought into a state where the gripping section stands upright and projects from a curtain surface. When the above curtain is cleaned in a state where the curtain has such clips attached thereto, the clips hinder and cause various difficulties. Before cleaning, therefore, it is conventional practice to remove the clips from a curtain, which is very troublesome. Particularly, when a large volume of curtains, like curtains to lease, is cleaned at once, it is impossible to dry the curtains having the clips attached thereto, with a so-called heat roll, and efficiency of work is caused to decrease. Furthermore, with the above attachment structure, the clip comes into point-contact with a seam of the above pleat-forming portion, so that weight of the curtain is exerted collectively on the seam. There are therefore drawbacks in that the seam is easily opened and that the attachment structure is destroyed before long.
For overcoming the above drawbacks, JP-A-57-188215 proposes a method of attaching a clip, in which the clip does not stand upright from a curtain surface but comes into a state parallel thereto, and a lower portion of the clip removed from a suspension rings of a curtain liner is embedded in a curtain surface, so that the clip does not create a hinderance during cleaning.
In the above known method, an engagement section of the clip has a relatively small U form and is engaged with a margin of a cylindrical support of a tape by sewing, so that the clip is sometimes broken and comes off when an excess load is exerted on a curtain.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a curtain structure in which a clip having a specific form is attached to a curtain member with a specific structure such that the clip does not create a hinderance when the curtain with the clip attached thereto is cleaned in a laundry, and such that the clip does not come off under an excess load.
According to the present invention, the object of the present invention is to provide a curtain structure having a curtain clip and its attachment structure, which are characterized by the following (1) to (4);
(1) clips, each of which has a U-shaped connection section, a reversed U-shaped connection section, and a rectangulary-shaped engagement section, which are consecutively formed so as to be co-planar with one another from a base portion to a portion formed to grip a suspension ring of a curtain liner,
(2) a tape member is positioned at an upper edge portion of a curtain and has pockets or bag-shaped supports in which the rectangularly-shaped engagement sections of the clips can be inserted from a lower side, with the pockets or bag-shaped supports being integrated with the tape member by combined weaving,
(3) the clips are engaged with the pockets or bag-shaped supports of the tape member in a state where the rectangularly-shaped engagement sections of the clips are inserted into the pockets or bag-shaped supports from a lower portion and a top of a gripping portion of each clip faces downwardly, and
(4) the tape member of the curtain is folded so as to cover the pockets or bag-shaped supports with which the rectangularly-shaped engagement sections are engaged, and so as to expose ordinary gripping portions of the U-shaped connection sections of the clips, with upper portions of folded portions being sewn together, and lower portions of the folded portions being sewn together.
According to the curtain structure of the present invention, the clips that are attached to a curtain do not cause any hindrance during steps of washing for cleaning, drying with a heat roll, and pressing. Since the clips are firmly inserted in the pockets or bag-shaped supports integrated with the tape member by combined weaving, the clips are fixed in parallel to the tape member, and further, even when a strong load is exerted on the curtain, the clips have strength sufficient for withstanding such a load. Further, the curtain structure of the present invention has simplicity, in that the clips can be attached to the tape member by a simple operation of inserting the clips into the pockets or bag-shaped supports of the tape member.
Further, the present inventor has continued studies for a manner of easily forming a pleat in a curtain when the above curtain structure of the present invention is attached to a curtain liner, and there can be accordingly provided a pleated curtain structure as follows.
According to the present invention, therefore, there is provided a curtain structure that is the above curtain structure and that has a pleat, in which two clips forming a pair in a tape member at an upper edge portion of a curtain have a distance therebetween that is sufficient for forming a pleat when the two clips are attached to the tape member and suspended from one suspension ring of a curtain liner.